20 Important Benefits of Music in Our Schools

Your child could end up being one of the great billionaire music artists out there, or simply end up self-entertaining in the shower. Whichever way it goes, there are scientifically proven ways that show that learning music in school is of great benefit to your child’s emotional, mental, social and physical well-being. Here are some proven benefits of learning music.

Facilitates Learning.

Making music is very involving. Other than voice and fingers, there is the simultaneous use of other senses; ears, eyes, large and small muscles. When playing an instrument for example, the student must read the music, play the instrument and listen to the sound being produced. This kind of attention and coordination not only sharpens them musically, but it also benefits the students in other subjects, benefiting them greatly when it comes to formal learning. This stimulating, integrating activity definitely goes a long way in improving learning.

Math Skills

Studying music improves the development of spatial intelligence in students. This helps them to perceive the world more accurately and with the aid of mental pictures. Spatial intelligence is very helpful when it comes to advanced mathematics. For a student to read music, they need to learn quarter, half, and whole notes, which are actually fractions. So, when a music student spends time and learns about rhythm, he or she has essentially learned to count. The student isn’t counting numbers, per se, but is using their logic to count out bars and rhythms, methodically working their way through the piece.

Language Skills

The left side of the brain which is known to be involved with language processing is physically developed during musical training. It is a known fact that learning a musical instrument can also improve the way the brain understands human language. This in turn helps students learn other languages.

Boosts Self Esteem

As they master the art of singing or playing an instrument, students try something new and develop confidence in themselves. Because they are working towards a common goal, students appreciate it when their efforts and interests are understood and heard by others. It creates in them a sense of security and acceptance that is very critical to their self-esteem.

Higher School Attendance Rate

Schools with music programs have a higher attendance rate in comparison to schools that do not have music programs

Larger Vocabulary

Children who study music usually have larger vocabularies. They also poses more advanced reading skills than their counterparts who don’t participate in music.

Higher Scores on Standardized Tests

Irrespective of the socioeconomic level, students from schools with a high-quality school music education program are seen to score higher on standardized tests than those in schools with low-quality or a non-existent music education program.

Early Development

Enhanced verbal skills and ability coupled with non-verbal reasoning is significantly higher in children aged 8-11 years who study music or play an instrument. Students who engaged in extracurricular music classes, developed much higher visual and verbal IQ abilities compared to those without any musical training.

Reasoning Abilities

Studies show that young children taking keyboard lessons have a much greater abstract reasoning capacity than that of their peers. These abilities improve with time and sustained music training. Their spatial-temporal performance improves greatly.

Special Needs Children

For a child with learning disabilities or dyslexia, music lessons are of great benefit. This is also true for children who tend to lose focus in a noisy environment.

Music also helps Special needs children to find a way to communicate and open up in cases where they may otherwise struggle to do so. Music therapy after-school programs are increasingly being implemented to benefit students with disabilities.

Creativity

As students are allowed to experiment and express themselves, their creativity levels are more sharpened when they are music students. It allows them room for ‘outside-the-box’ kind of thinking.

Stress Relief

Music in our schools gives students a way to relieve stress. Because of its therapeutic properties, these children get to relax and let the troubles of the day slip away, leaving them refreshed and rejuvenated.

Teamwork

Music encourages teamwork. The students learn that no single aspect of music; voice or instrument, can work best independently. They learn how to corporate, put their thoughts and ideas together and work as a team.

Higher Graduation Rates

There is a correlation between schools with music programs and high graduation rates. Many families can instill the benefits of music education in children despite cuts to school programs. To reap the benefits of music education for children, some students pursue music independently or find supplemental music learning programs or personalized training. This is especially prevalent in private schools.Private music training or music ensembles in communities or churches offer good platforms for children to reap the benefits of music education. Some lucky few might even find artistic success!

Increased Brain Activity

The brain of a even a young music student works differently compared to that of a student who doesn’t study music. According to neuroscience research, children involved in music encourage larger neural activity than those not involved in music training. This is because they use more of their brain to play an instrument, sing, or read music.Music improves fine motor tasks and sound discrimination.

Improved Memory

Children who engage in music in school have improved memory compared to children who don’t receive musical training

Coordination and Motor Skills

Percussion, and certain other instruments help children develop better motor and coordination skills. The reason is because they require simultaneous movement of the hands, feet, and arms.

Discipline

Students who study or play an instrument get to learn a lot about dedication, discipline, and the fruits of hard work.